CatchUp

Life here has been busy; lately it has been difficult to keep up with myself. Thus, my body evidentially decided to give into sickness. It is the 7th day of full on sickness, and as much as it kills me to rest…that is what I have been forcing myself to do today. Tomorrow is the doctor; hopefully something good will come out of that.


An update since injured feet: My feet have been doing much better. Instead of walking to places and then walking around at my destination, I now try to take a bus or metro to my destination. My feet are much happier, and in the long run I get to spend more time at my destination.

One relaxing adventure was a trip to the beach. It was a fun experience; however, being used to gorgeous Florida beaches…I will probably not go back to the Roman beach. Black sand is not my thing. It was a fun time though to get away from the center of Rome, take public transportation all the way there, and enjoy the day with friends.

The evening of the beach day was the going away party for one of my lovely friends from work. It was a nice get together at her apartment where we had dinner on the roof/patio while eating pizza from a local pizza oven where we saw them make the pizza in a brick wood burning oven. The night was actually cold outside, which just goes to show how Rome has had ridic weather this summer. I couldn’t believe I was actually enjoying this amazing night with friends on a rooftop in Rome. It was perfect…although it wasn’t perfect. The fact that one of our close friends from work was leaving made it sad and so hard to say goodbye. Let’s just hope there will be a reunion in London one day.

The week before the weekend of beach fun was the first World Cup match of Italy. This now has different perspective writing from two weeks later. Rome is home of the 2006 World Cup Champs and home of crazy football fans, thus Rome is one of the few locations in the world that has an official FIFA Fan Fest. The Fan Fest has a huge screen showing the matches in Villa Borghese with tents set up with different activities going on. For the first Italy match we decided to meet up after work at the FIFA fan fest. We got there half an hour before the start of the match. There were hundreds of swarming Italians. It was quite the spectacle. We wove ourselves through the sea of Italians sitting on the turf in front of the screen and wedged ourselves Indian style in between all the people. Thank goodness the people stayed sitting for the match. Thus, we enjoyed the match watching with hundreds of other people and cheering on the azzuri (Italian team). When Italy scored in the second half, everyone FLEW up screaming, clapping, while fireworks started to go off. It was a confusion of happiness. The match ended up in a draw and we all went home tired yet happy. It was a fun way to spend the evening after work.

Since then as everyone knows, the azzuri did not advance to the next round, and the Italians have thus been furious with their less than superb team. The US on the other hand proved they have football skill by moving on to the next round. I watched their second round match with friends at the apartment of one of my close friends from work. That game was last night, and it was nice to relax and watch the game inside (especially feeling sick, it was nice to sit in a chair with hot tea rather than amongst a crowd).

Other than world cup news is party news. This past week was the week of two party events, my 21st birthday and the President’s annual garden party. The first one was on a work night; however, we had fun none the less. My birthday was fun at work with me choosing to have lunch outside of IFAD at a cute sandwich stand with outdoor seating. After sandwiches we all got gelato and slowly made our walk back to IFAD. Everyone at work who knew it was my birthday was really nice and overall it was a relaxing day at work. After coming home, I got ready for dinner with girls from work, a friend from back home who was studying in Rome, and another friend from the states who I met in Rome. I met up with a girl from work who lives close to me and we made our way together to the center to the restaurant for dinner. We ate at a restaurant, recommended by a friend who grew up in Rome, which has delicious pasta. I had amazing eggplant pasta and the other girls all got other different types of pasta or pizza. We ended up passing around plates and trying everyone’s dish. It was a fun time and made even more entertaining with the Italians next to us who were also celebrating a birthday. They were in love with the fact that it was my birthday as well. They wanted to meet up the next day for a world cup match, but we all had to explain that we work at the United Nations and don’t have our days free. The one who was celebrating his birthday then proceeded to tell a joke. They were a hilarious group and made the night even more fun.

After dinner some of us walked to the Spanish Steps and took some pictures, talked and then headed our separate ways to go home and get ready for the next work day.

Friday was the President’s garden party. All staff regardless of contract type were invited. My friends and I were all excited, RSVPed the previous week and had our tickets ready to go. After work on Friday we left in my friend’s car and went to the party. The party had started earlier and we had the option to leave work early; however, we decided we didn’t need three full hours of appetizers. The president lives outside of the center of Rome, thus he has space and a lovely garden. The night was tons of fun and consisted of fabulous appetizers, a gelato bar (we decided to forgo gelato for all the other things there), champagne/wine bar (this sick girl was able to just get orange juice), an array of delicious dishes for dinner, a great table of desserts which I am pretty sure we tried every one, and after all the food all the staff getting up and tearing up the dance floor. Luckily we had heard of the food that was to be served and we prepped by eating a small lunch. After the party we got back into my friends car, put the top down, and had an amazing drive back into the center of Rome. I still can’t believe that night really happened. One year ago I would have never believe these sorts of things would be happening to me right now. Who would have ever guessed I would spend my 21st birthday in Rome and later on party it up with coworkers from the UN?!

Well…it’s time to enjoy the abnormally cool weather here in Rome, and get ready for a new work week. Enjoy the pictures which explain my life in Rome better than I ever could.

First Italy match of the World Cup

FIFA fan fest

Birthday Dinner

Spanish Steps

at night for my birthday.

Injured Feet

My feet and ankles are in pain…they hurt while I sleep and when I wake up in the morning. I’ve obviously injured them and especially the left one…when anything touches the top of it, pain shoots through my foot. I’ve never realized how important feet are. Without them in top condition I’m stranded.


Thus, I dedicate this post to my feet which have taken me across four weeks of adventure. They are asking me for a break…and for now I will let them rest, even though all I want to do is go walk all over Rome.

Since my last post, my feet have taken me so many different places and on so many different adventures. Even though it may not be the best for my feet’s health, I just keep going. Here are some of the adventures that subsequently have brought them to this state:

My feet take me on the same path every morning to the metro at colosseo. I pass through the neighborhood loving every moment. Maybe I don’t want to be going to work at 7:30 in the morning, but walking through Roma on the way to work is a dream come true. I get to pass by the neighborhood Cornetteria (bakery, they never close, freshest pastries of my life), Fruttivendolo (fruit and vegetable vendor), local Bar (café), Meat and Wine shop, the Forno (fresh bread), and then of course the coliseum. I’ve now passed by these places for a month. This past week my dream came true…the locals finally noticed me. On Monday morning the locals outside of the shops who congregate outside the shops said Buongiorno. This made me smile; I didn’t think too much into it, I thought maybe they were just saying hi, not necessarily saying hi since they had noticed me walk by every morning, even though I had noticed them. Tuesday morning I was approaching the usual group along with the BIG dog that congregates in the same area. They all said buongiorno, making me smile beyond belief….THEN they started talking to me in Italian. I mean…who would guess that someone who walks by every morning in business clothes doesn’t speak Italian? I then smiled sheepishly, and they all realized I wasn’t fluent. Then we all spoke in slow Italian together, and they got the message that I speak English, yet we still all spoke in Italian. I smiled and said “Mi piace palare in italiano” (I like to speak in Italian). Then they responded by saying we will speak every morning in Italian. This made me so happy, and then as I walked through the group they all shouted “Ciao.” I felt like I was in a movie. A dream come true.

The next morning I was excited to walk to the metro looking forward to practicing some Italian with the locals, never did I expect what happened. As I approached the area, I saw the big dog sitting outside of the bar; I slowed my pace and glanced in. There was the group, they all smiled, and one shouted “Ciao Alessia.” Then they INSISTED on getting me a coffee. I was so surprised. I had only expected to say hi and say a few things as I walked by. Thus, to my surprise I was swept into the bar, presented a coffee and then we subsequently chatted it up at the bar. Combined with the fact that I was still waking up and being shocked by their kindness, I just stood and smiled…thus not too much Italian was said on my end of the conversation on Wednesday morning.

Therefore, for Thursday morning I was prepared. I knew to expect more talk and possibly another coffee. Thursday morning didn’t disappoint. As I walked by their faces lit up and they bought me a cappuccino. They sure do know how to make me smile, coffee and Italian…plus the cute HUGE dog. My mornings are now 1000 times better and getting out of bed in the morning got a lot easier.

Despite my tired feet, I always love to wander around the historic center of Rome. I take the metro all the way to Flamino and then slowly make my way back home. On one occasion I came across an English speaking church. Due to the fact of missing my church back home in the ville, I woke up on Sunday and made my way out to the church. The church was packed and it was fun to sing some familiar church songs. It may have not been exactly what I like, but it was a refreshing Sunday morning. That Sunday after church the congregation was having their annual picnic in Villa Borghese (the huge park in Rome). Picnics in parks can never go wrong, so I journeyed to the park with a group from the church. On the picnic pilgrimage I met a girl from New Zealand who is living in Rome as an au pair. We chatted it up on the way there and then enjoyed the beyond my imagination Italian potluck picnic. We then made plans to meet up later on in the week. It’s always amazing to make a new friend in Rome.

That Sunday afternoon I journeyed all the way back from Villa Borghese home (even though I had told my feet I wouldn’t do it again…now I have to promise my feet I will never do that again). My feet were in pain on the way home, so I walked up to my nearby park to relax. Upon entering the park I saw all the locals reclining on the sloping grass. Some were picnicking and others napping. Thus, I found a good napping spot, laid down, and 45 minutes later woke up with to a lovely breeze and the best view of the coliseum. I walked home smiling all the way, another lovely weekend.

The latest adventure which brought my feet to this ultimate state of injury was yesterday’s 8 hour adventure to the Vatican. No, I didn’t wait in line at all; I just spent THAT much time there. Some friends from work and I made an 8:30 reservation at the museum, thus we walked right in bypassing the long line which I remember vividly from standing in it when I came to Rome with the family 5 years ago. Armed with my Rick Steves’ Rome guide, Rick Steves’ downloaded podcast of the Sistine Chapel, and the museum audio guide, my two friends and I left Italy and entered the smallest country in the world. The Vatican proved to be overwhelming; thus we took each section at a time with no rush. Luckily it was a nice day, so the sun and a breeze came through the open windows. It was a relaxing and intense learning day all together. The whole time I just kept thinking how surreal it was to be back. Five years ago when I saw the Sistine Chapel, I never thought I would be fortunate enough to return. Here I was, once again roaming the massive hallways lined with art and then ultimately gazing up at the most magnificent piece of art by a single artist, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.

After making it back to my apartment after the 8 hour adventure, I perched myself on my bed and never left. My feet were about to commit feet suicide and disown my body.

Thank you feet for not falling off and for taking me on many adventures across my dream city, please feel better soon.

Why I love Roma

Cute bikes and flowers

Walks at night with all the other people admiring the city

FRESH food from the local market

Bread from my local Forno and fresh buffalo mozzarella

Ruins and sun spots

Churches everywhere

Ancient Roman fountains

Cooking in my tiny kitchen with a cute balcony

Walking through my local park, someone asks me in slow English if I could take their picture...they are then surprised when I pull out my camera and ask them in fluent English if they can take mine.  Yes for blending in more and more everyday.  (too bad I got this opportunity after my 2 mile walk and just deciding to put up my hair in case of a hair part burn).

I love Rome as my Home.

Conversations with Italian Dogs

And other short stories

So far I haven’t been able to speak tons of Italian. The routine Italian during the day is listening to people on the metro, ordering lunch, errand running, and talking with Rossella (thank goodness for her). Yesterday I finally found the free newspaper stand at my metro, so I should be getting some good reading in now. Other than that, people hear my American accent, then throw in their English. It makes sense really, if I spoke French and heard someone’s thick French accent speaking English, I would just make it easy and speak French.

Luckily there are the occasional conversations with Italian dogs. The other day while relaxing in Piazza Navona, the cutest terrier came by (with his owner in tow). Thus, we had a conversation in Italian. We discussed the day and how he would like to attack the pigeons. It was a lovely time and the owner loved it too. Perhaps I shall start up more of those conversations on my daily walks to the metro and my daily encounters with so many dogs. Romans love dogs.


Kitchen enCounters
Although it does not help my Italian language, my nightly encounter with the kitchen gets me into the Italian spirit. The kitchen is barely big enough for me to turn around in; however, it’s beautiful in its small size and the gas stove makes up for the space it lacks. At first I was afraid to burn down the building, but now I love cooking with the gas stove. How will I ever go back to an electric stove?! The gas stove heats up like no other and really gets things cooking fast. Do I spontaneously want to eat an egg for breakfast? No problem, ready in two minutes.
Mt. Vernon, I would like an upgrade to a gas stove please. Thanks.


Pronunciation Lesson #1
Although I may be speaking English quite a bit, I am learning more and more the pronunciation of Italian. When they speak, their pronunciation is unlike any other. Many of these pronunciation lessons are learned while speaking English. The main one comes from where I work.

It is because I work at EFAD. What?! That is right. EFAD. When I have even said IFAD among coworkers they scrunch up their face in confusion. Even the native English speakers have forgotten their pronunciation of the letter I and have joined the team of EFAD. Thus, there I am as well, pronouncing the letter I like an Italian, eee. Now if I hear anyone say IFAD, all I think is newbie, they don’t even know…


Holiday Mentality
This has been a busy work week and an especially hard work week to work through simply because of the holiday mentality. Monday was Memorial Day, what did I do: work. Wednesday, the Italian celebration of the republic, everyone and their mother is off from work/ school, what did I do: work. Today when I arrived back at the apartment, exhausted and starving, Rossella said hi and then gave me a strange look. Here she thought I had been out enjoying the day off, she didn’t expect to see me in work clothes. Neither did anyone else in this city except for the UN.


The New Baby
It’s funny that it has taken my third work week here for my age to leak out. The realization has caused the past youngest to pass me the torch and mainly for the shock factor to take place. They simply can’t believe how “young” I am. Yesterday one of my friends/coworkers was in shock; she just couldn’t believe I wasn’t 26. It also makes them surprised that I am even here. The previous baby pointed it out as a good thing; it’s impressive to be young and working here. I just hope their shock wears off soon.

Malawi and a Lunch Coma
Sitting in on the PSRs has been great fun to break up the work day. I get to be a simple observer, learn about all the different countries in Southern and Eastern Africa (had to google a few to even see where they exist, Mauritius?, never knew about that country before), and pass the time not sitting at my desk. Ok, simple observer…no work, no problem. Aha. Not. Change the situation to simple observer after lunch and you get one of the hardest things to get through, the Lunch Coma. The Lunch Coma sets in when you just sit there. I find myself nodding off and seeing my pen draw scribbles on my paper. The Lunch Coma is horrible and I just wish I had something to input into the conversation so I would be energized. When I get the opportunity to run and get a financial report it is the best. I get up and run around the office and wake up. Without any runs to go on, the lunch coma and I fight our battle till the end.

The most recent battle was during the Malawi PSR. Luckily I was energized just by the fact that it was Malawi and I knew Kristen would be excited to hear about it. Malawi on the IFAD front is doing well. They mentioned bore holes at one point and it made me smile after hearing about Kristen’s trek to get to one. They have two projects there with a third on the way. They look to improve access for the poor to appropriate technology and services for sustainable natural resource management (irrigation is one issue). Capacity building is a key element with focus being put into figuring out how to work with the different districts. They are working hard…and I beat the lunch coma. Thanks Kristen.

Today’s Caffé
Today I was invited to take a coffee with a lady in my division. On our way down to the bar we had a snowball effect and by the time we sat down with our caffé there were eight of us. I was sandwiched right in the center of the group and proceeded to flip flop between the two conversations. The two conversations managed to be in three languages: French, English, and Italian. I call that talent.


Weather Update
The weather has been enjoyable. The weekend was nice with shorts weather on Sunday. However, the reason I am giving a weather update is because it is COLD right now. It’s night here now, but still…cold. Who knows how this happens. I like it because then I can get under all the covers to sleep, but getting up in the morning is going to be a doozy.


The End
The short stories could go on for years; however, they have to end somewhere. It is 9:15 now and time to get moving about the apartment before its late and time for bed.
Buonanotte!